


Where Red Crystal Grew

by Tamahori



Category: Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Family Secrets, Gen, Meet the Family, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-27
Updated: 2019-05-27
Packaged: 2020-03-20 05:10:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18985951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tamahori/pseuds/Tamahori
Summary: Mòrag and Brighid go on a trip to find out just who this 'Nia' girl is and find far more than they had expected.Warning: Contains spoilers for Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Chapter 7.





	Where Red Crystal Grew

_Four days after the Water Tank battle._

The town of Echell was nothing remarkable, much smaller than Torigoth of course. This didn’t stop it producing a sizable amount of the food that was a large part of why Mor Ardain had annexed Gormott in the first place. 

The locals were mostly Gormotti and paying quite a bit of attention to the two figures walking through the town square. The two being Ardanian would have made them stand out a little for a start, but even the high-ranking military uniform on one wasn’t nearly the attention getter that the blade walking along next to her was. Brighid, the Jewel of Mor Ardain, quite possibly the most famous blade in Alrest and among other things quite capable of leveling the town if she put her mind to it. 

For those more in the know, that made the uniformed woman next to her Special Inquisitor Mòrag, sister to Emperor Niall of Mor Ardain, and his right hand. It might have caused more tension but her well known capabilities as the most powerful driver in the Empire was matched only by her reputation for only using that power when it was needed. It didn’t remove all the tension, because when she _did_ feel the need to use that power she was unflinching about making sure the job was done, and done completely. 

“I hope this does not turn out to be a waste of time.” Brighid kept her voice down out of habit, though nobody seemed to want to go too near either of them, looking around the village square though closed eyes as usual. 

Mòrag’s tone was thoughtful, “We need to understand who these children gathered around the Aegis are. We _especially_ need to understand who the possibly ex-member of a terrorist group is. Nia herself might be a dead end but her Blade came from here and I expect there is an interesting story who how a girl with no known background ended up driving a family Blade that’s been missing for a decade.” 

Brighid nodded, “And nobody will be more interested in that story than the family Dromarch was taken from.” 

It wasn’t quite true to say that a noble family was defined by their unique Blades, but they did make up a significant part of a family’s power and prestige. Families could and would resort to assasination to get a stolen Blade back. If somebody outside the family ended up as the driver of one of their blades without having stolen it or killed a family member then adoption was a much more traditional, not to mention legal, way to get the blade back inside the family. 

“I can only assume the reason they haven’t yet tried to do something to adopt, or otherwise, with Nia is because she’s spent most of the last decade unfindable.” Just quite how much resources the terrorist organisation Torna had was unknown but they certainly had an ability to show up unexpectedly in the most odd and typically inconvenient places. 

Brighid smiled, “You like them.” 

Mòrag paused for a few moments, then continued walking, “They are … an interesting group. As for Nia herself, she may not be a Torna ruffian anymore, but she’s most certainly a ruffian, and at this point probably one of the more experienced members of their group. She’s also hiding things, more than just Torna I think.” 

“And of course you want to find out all her secrets.” 

“It _is_ my job.” 

Somebody finally came up talk to them, a short Gormotti man, “Ah, Special Inquisitor, Lady Brighid. I’m Taliesin, mayor of the town. I was curious if there was anything I might to do assist you?” He was polite enough, but the undercurrent of ‘what can I do to make sure nothing gets Special Inquisted’ was clear. 

Mòrag gave him a polite nod, “We’re just following up on some matters from the … events of ten years ago. Nobody in this town is in any kind of trouble and I don’t expect we’ll be staying more than the rest of this day at most. My business is mainly with the Llywelyn family. I believe you were still the mayor when the events happened?” 

He did his best to hide his relief, “Ah yes, that was some nasty business. It’s good to have the Llywelyn in charge now, Rhydderch can go dive to the bottom of the sea for all we care. We’re _still_ recovering from what Brynmor did. I just wish your man Gregor had gotten here faster when Brynmor started stealing our tax money.” 

Mòrag nodded, “I’m given to understand that Lord Brynmor was using the money to try and find a way to heal his wife and daughter.” 

Taliesin frowned, “Look, I can understand his motivations, we all loved Lady Seren and it’s a tragedy Carys died as young as she did but that was money that was supposed to upgrade defences and repair the roads. We needed that. And he wasn’t wasn’t doing his damn job either. We need the nobility to protect us from the wildlife. If it hadn’t been for Dromarch going and doing the job himself or either of the Nias ...” 

It was a sad fact of life that a village like this could not expect to hold off all of the wildlife around Gormott by itself. This in many ways was were the nobility had started out, people with the time and resources, especially blades, to be able to focus on getting good at fighting off monsters and in return the commoners supported them. That was a long time in the past for Mor Ardain which had an army for that kind of thing, but Gormott was a lot closer to the old ways where a lord’s reach was what they could protect and guard. Of course sometimes they would fail in their duty. 

Mòrag’s pause was unnoticeable to anyone other than Brighid, “Dromarch and the Nias?” 

“Dromarch was Brynmor’s family blade, a big white tiger. We miss him. He was always willing to help and loved children. When Brynmor was in his right mind the two of them were great, but even without his driver Dromarch would do what he could. Honestly I think he was as annoyed with Brynmor as any of us, but would never say it. He was a very proper type of person.” Taliesin looked wistful for a moment, “The first Nia was Lady Seren’s blade, looked mostly like a Gormotti but with really big ears and a lot of fancy clothing. Really good healer even compared to Dromarch, who was no slouch himself. There are several families in the town that would be smaller if it wasn’t for her healing.” 

“She passed onto Carys after Seren died and managed to get Carys back to being healthy again for a while. Those were good days, we didn’t know how much her father had messed things up yet, and it was so good to see her running around like a normal girl again.” He gave fond smile before sighing, “It didn’t last though, she got sick again and I think that’s when Brynmor really started getting into the tax money to find a cure. I really feel for Nia, you could see her just looking more desperate every time we saw her. Carys did her best to look brave but … we’d seen her mother die of the same thing so we all knew what was coming.” 

He looked over at the two visitors, “Even with how we felt about her father, when she died all of us came to the funeral. She’d been part of us and we all missed her when she went.” 

Mòrag sighed, “I’m sorry for your loss. I’ll admit one of the reasons we’re here is that we’re trying to track down what happened to the family blades.” 

Taliesin thought on that for a moment, “I’d always assumed the other Nia took both of them to be honest. I … can’t blame her, she kinda earned them.” 

Brighid spoke up for the first time, “If I may ask, who was this ‘other Nia’?” 

“A few months after Carys died we started seeing another girl around the manor, “ he nodded up at the large dwelling looking over the village from a hill. “We’re not sure where she came from but she was a Gormotti girl that Brynmor … I _think_ he adopted her? Honestly none of us would talk to him and we only really saw her if she had to come into town to trade for food or medical supplies. I’ll be honest, we weren’t very nice to her but that changed when she started going out with Dromarch to help protect the town. Took a while before we even found what her name was, she apparently refused to go by whoever she’d been before Brynmor found her, so he took to calling her by the name of Carys’s blade. She looked kinda like the other Nia, but human, so I can see why he thought of it.” 

Mòrag queried one of the minor points, “Trading for food?” 

Taliesin shrugged, “They were out of money and nobody was going to give him anything, so she was trading bits of property from the house for food and so forth. I’d have thought she was looting the place but you almost had to fight to get her to take anything for herself. She said she owed everything to Brynmor. Have to respect the loyalty.” He snorted, “Some people thought she was the blade, awoken by him, but she got injured one time and and I know enough to know blades heal a lot faster than she did. Not a blade, just an orphan that looked after him in his last couple of years before … well, before everything caught up with him.” 

The man stopped and turned to face them, “After he died she stayed long enough to get him buried and then vanished. If she took both the blades with her, well I can’t begrudge her that, though the Llywelyn would love to know where they got to.” 

“And how have the Llywelyn been as lords?” 

His expression was an odd mixture of fond and sad, “You can’t say they don’t give their all for the town. Lord Dilwyn fell while protecting a group of harvesters, and not before he saved them either. His blade Maya wasn’t a healer though and he was too injured for anyone to help. We brought him back though and the core, he was everything that Brynmor should have been, everything Brynmor had been before it all went bad.” 

“So his wife, Lady Riannon, is now protecting the town?” 

Taliesin shook his head, “No, she can’t drive. Yeah, I know, a noble that can’t drive but it happens. We were getting ready to call in the army for help and … I guess service runs hard in that family. Their daughter Elwys was all of eleven years old and she snuck into where Maya’s core was being held and resonated with her. Everyone was horrified of course but you can’t undo it and … she wasn’t wrong that we needed Maya back.” 

Brighid looked over at her driver, quietly saying, “Now who could that remind me of?” 

Mòrag did her best to ignore her blade, “She was fighting wildlife at eleven?” 

Taliesin waggled his hand, “She was directing Maya to fight wildlife. We put a group of our better fighters together as a bodyguard and kept her as far away as we could while any combat was going on.” His tone got more fond, “Crazy little kitten, she was so damn earnest and determined. Though I think it runs in the family. Carys was the same during the years when she was healthy enough and the girl Nia that Brynmor was determined to look after the town in her own way.” 

He blinked, then thought, “If you want to know more about the girl Nia … ah, there he is.” He raised his voice, “Griffith, get over here, there is somebody you should meet.” 

Griffith was a young Gormotti man, probably in his very late teens, who came over then blinked and came to almost attention when saw the two visitors, “The Jewel?” 

Taliesin did quick introductions, “Your ladies, this is Griffith. Griffith this is Special Inquisitor Mòrag and Lady Brighid. They are looking into the troubles we had, I was thinking you knew Nia better than most.” 

Mòrag could see the moment he went from being dazzled by them to protective, “Ah … I’m not sure how much I could really tell you … “ 

She did her best to calm him down, “Nia is not in any trouble, we ran into her recently and we’re just trying to understand where she came from.” 

“Wait, you’ve seen her alive? Recently? Oh, thank the architect. Where is she, I … well, I owe her my life.” 

Seeing their questioning looks Griffith sighed, “I guess I should tell you how I met her, it’s a bit of a story. So … I was being kinda stupid and …” 

* * *

“Nice doggy?” 

The volff didn’t seem impressed, growling softly as it slowly stalked towards the ten year old boy. Griffith knew he’d gone out too far but he figured he’d be okay. 

He was not okay. 

The problem with volffs of course was that … and there was another couple. Oh hell. 

The three volffs suddenly froze, looking around frantically as a deeper growl echoed through the woods. The source appeared a moment later. A massive white figure stalking towards them, dwarfing the volffs even without the glowing armour sections he wore. 

Oh thank the architect, he was saved. 

“Master Griffith, I would suggest you may wish to return to town promptly.” Dromarch, for all he looked like a giant tiger, was never nothing if not polite. 

Griffith nodded, “Yeah, that seems like a great idea Drom.” He moved to get the beast blade between himself and the volff pack. A quick look around showed no sign of Dromarch’s driver but he’d not really expected it. Nobody had seen much of the lord in months and most people thought that he hadn’t so much ordered Dromach to go out as Dromarch had just taken it on himself to do the lord’s duty for him. 

He was trying very hard to stay calm, panicking got you dead. And he didn’t want to look stupid in front of Dromarch … he’d done enough stupid today already. 

Then there was a quiet snarl right behind him. 

_Of course_ there was another one behind him, because volffs. 

Very slowly he turned around to see the _fourth_ volff slowly advancing towards him and Dromarch was facing down three in the other direction so couldn’t help in time. Griffith carefully put a hand on his long knife. If he was going to go down, he was going to go down fighting. 

Then the choice was taken away from him as another figure dropped silently out a tree onto the volff with a knife in each hand. 

The figure was silent, the volff was anything but as it took two knives in the back. The surprise attack didn’t kill it though and it threw the attacker off. Behind him he heard a loud roar and the sound of shattering bark and probably volffs as Dromarch unleashed a shockwave. But Griffith’s focus was on the other Gormotti who rolled to their feet, pulled out yet another dagger and charged towards the staggering volff who had just found out their legs didn’t work very well anymore. 

All Griffith saw a confusing tangle. The dark brown volff struggling with the gormotti in a yellow coverall before there was a sound of a knife going into flesh and the volff froze for a moment before collapsing. The third blade buried at the base of its skull. 

He took a moment to glance over his shoulder, seeing one dead volff, another in the process of getting mauled and the third that had apparently decided this wasn’t working and was running for it. Right, that direction was safe. 

“Are you okay?” 

It took him a moment to realise they were asking him, the person who hadn’t even been touched if _they_ were okay, and another moment to realise what the voice sounded like. 

“Um, I’m fine. Are you okay.” 

The girl cringed a little, ears folded back, “I’m okay … it didn’t hit me. Um … I’m glad you’re okay.” 

She had just taken on a volff by herself armed with nothing but knives, saved his life, and _now_ she was looking scared. He took a step back, “Thanks for saving me that was pretty amazing.” 

The girl, older than him but not a woman, looked surprised by the complement then managed a small smile, “Thanks. Dromarch taught me how to fight.” 

“And you did very well mistress Nia.” Dromarch came padding up beside them, “You should recover your weapons.” 

Nia blinked, flushed suddenly and darted off to start pulling her knives out of the dead volff. For his part Griffith didn’t bother checking behind him, if Dromarch was relaxed enough to walk over then there was no threat left in that direction. 

Griffith gave the tiger a small bow, “Thank you for saving me.” 

Dromarch gave him a nod in return, “It was my pleasure, it’s what I’m here for.” 

Nia came back, cleaning her knives off on a cloth, “Da isn’t … able to help, so we have to. Family obligations.” she blinked at his expression, “He told me to call him that, I don’t have other parents.” 

“I’m Griffith … hey, wasn’t Carys’s blade called Nia?” 

She winced visibly when he mentioned Carys’s name, “I … Da um, rescued me from some bad people. I didn’t want to keep the name they gave me so he gave me a new one … he said the person whose name it had been was a good person but they were gone now. I like it more than my old one.” She was looking acutely nervous but relaxed a bit when Dromarch came up beside her, the girl absently reaching out to stroke the giant cat. 

Dromarch spoke up, “We should walk you back to the town and you can tell me just why were this far out with no escort.” 

“Um yeah … about that … “ 

* * *

Taliesin was looking at Griffith, “Dammit kid, I never knew you almost got killed.” 

“Hey, Dromarch and Nia had it handled.” 

“They shouldn’t have had to … “ the mayor blinked, “Ah, sorry about that my ladies. So yes, Griffith probably knew her the best. She … didn’t talk to people much, very shy but eager to help protect the village … probably a bit too eager, reminds me of Elwys really. Children, what can you do? Anyway, shall I show you up to the manor?” 

Mòrag nodded, “Yes please. Griffith, we may have some questions later, but if it makes you feel better Nia seemed to be doing much better than what you described when we saw her recently.” 

Griffith grinned, “That’s good to hear, she was nice. I guess I might see you around.” He waved and headed off. 

Taliesin sighed, “Sorry if he was a bit … he’s a good kid, and often part of Elwys’s escort if she’s heading out.” 

Mòrag smiled, “It’s honestly refreshing. If it’s easier we can find our own way up the hill, “ she looked at the clear path, “I don’t think we’ll get lost.” 

He nodded, “Right you are then.” 

As the two woman walked towards the house, Brighid frowned, “So we did find Nia.” 

“And even more mysteries. Where did he find her? Who were these bad people he rescued her from … assuming that wasn't just an outright lie. It’s possible she’s just some girl that showed up at his door.” 

“From what they have been saying she seems to have earned her keep. And … it doesn’t feel right. She wasn’t Dromarch’s driver when she met Griffith, she’d have been using his weapons.” 

“Her combat style hasn’t changed though, skirmishing, attacking from behind … just better weapons and probably skill.” Mòrag paused, thinking. “Griffith said she was older than him when they met. The girl we met I would have guessed her age at not yet twenty.” 

Bridgid considered that, “She could just be aging well. If we are lucky there may be pictures. Meanwhile I’m quite curious to meet Elwys, I’m curious what the Gormotti version of you is like.” 

Mòrag gave her a half-hearted glare, then got her more serious face on as they came to a stop in front of the door, the woman reaching out to knock. 

* * *

“We are of course happy to assist you in any way we can. But I’m not exactly sure what we can do for you?” 

Lady Riannon Llywelyn was an elegant woman in her mid thirties and her outfit was fairly classic Gormitti nobility with touches of Mor Ardain fashions. She was also giving one of the more polite ‘I’m loyal to the Empire, but I really would be happier if you would go away before whatever trouble you are looking into happens to my town’ routines Mòrag had experienced. 

Brighid decided to bypass the normal byplay, “Four days ago we encountered Dromarch and his driver in Torigoth.” 

Riannon paused for a long moment, then took another sip of her tea, “How can the Llywelyn family help you?” 

Mòrag hid her smile, nothing like family politics to get somebody to help you. The legal situation over just who Dromarch should go to was complex, both the Llywelyn and Rhydderch had a claim on him and the Rhydderch claim was much stronger given Carys had predeceased her father. This was one of the situations where possession of his core or adoption of his driver would be nine tenths of the law. 

The inquisitor took a sip before asking, “I’m trying to understand the history. The girl that is his driver seems to have been living under Lord Brynmor’s protection and then vanished for a decade. I’m trying to work out just where she came from.” 

Their host blinked, “Ah, her. Yes, understanding the history is important here. I need to get some things together, while you wait may I suggest you have a look around the grounds, my daughter can give you a quick tour of the significant features.” She gestured for one of the maids, “Annabel, I believe she is out the back right now. Tell her to show them the graves.” 

Mòrag wasn’t quite sure what was going on here but her ability to force the issue was limited. For the moment, she’d go along with whatever Lady Riannon was doing and hope this wasn’t some attempt to destroy evidence. “Of course, a tour of your grounds would be lovely.” And why did she want to show them the graves? 

* * *

“And that I would guess is Elwys.” Brighid’s tone was dry. It wasn’t like there were many other people around it could be after all. 

Mòrag took a few moments to make an assessment. Elwys was in practical combat garb, including some light armour, and holding her blade’s lance. Her ears were folded half back as she focused on spotting the next move from her opponent. Though Mòrag could see carefully timed eye-flicks around to make sure nothing else would sneak up on the young girl. 

The opponent was her blade. A generic female design, all grey stone and blue glowing lines with featureless eyes locked on her driver. In the apparently Maya’s hands was a training version of her own lance. The two exchanged a series of blows, parries, and counter-blows, slowly circling around each other. The girl had a good mixture of talent and training, nowhere near an elite fighter but certainly competent and better than many mercenaries Mòrag had seen. 

Brighid tilted her head, “That blade is more advanced than she looks.” 

As the two down the hill turned Elwys got a look back up at the two watching. Maya took advantage of the girl’s momentary distraction to flick out with her lance at her driver’s legs, following that up with a secondary attack in the form of two of the daggers she wore like a skirt separating and flinging themselves at the gormotti. 

Elwys leapt backwards to dodge the lance swing and turned into a backwards roll to avoid the follow up daggers. As she came to her feet she took advantage of the increased distance to unleash a swarm of glowing ether balls from the lance that flew at Maya. Maya spun her blade, parrying the few balls she didn’t dodge outright, “Very good mistress.” 

“Thank you … and we have guests … very important guests.” 

Maya turned to face them and then did a double-take. Brighid was right. For a generic blade Maya was pretty expressive. 

Elwys handed the lance back to its owner then gave a polite bow, “Lady Mòrag and Brighid, how can we help you?” 

Mòrag gave a nod back, “We are looking into some events from a decade ago. Your mother is getting some records together for us. She asked if you could give us a tour of the grounds and the graveyard?” 

Annabel who’d been standing silently beside them gave a small curtsy, and departed, apparently having decided that delivering the lady’s message would be redudant. 

The girl and her blade glanced at each other then Elwys shrugged, “I’m assuming you’d rather not wait for me to change. Right, in that case we may as well start with the gardens.” 

Directly to the point, not too thrown by having famous people show up, took her combat training seriously, and from the sound of it took family responsibilities just as intensely. Mòrag was starting to like this girl already. 

She preemptively muttered to Brighid, “Not a word.” Her blade just smirked slightly in response. 

* * *

The graveyard was peaceful. 

Obviously a private location for the family, several generations of Rhydderch had been laid to rest here. Elwys led them through to the most recent graves, “This will be what mother wanted me to show you.” 

There were four graves in a row. The first listed Brynmor Rhydderch, 4002 to 4048, ‘You Can Rest Now’. 

Elwys nodded at it, “The wording was chosen by the girl that had been living with him. As best as we can tell, she arranged his funeral and burial, then took his blade and left. I miss Dromarch, he was always willing to give rides to us children, and so very fluffy.” 

Mòrag asked, “But not Brynmor?” 

“I was only three when he dropped entirely out of contact. I don’t remember him. Dromarch was a lot more memorable.” She nodded to the third grave which read Seren Rhydderch, 4007 to 4043, ‘Dearly Loved’. “I don’t think I ever met aunt Seren, I don’t remember her at all.” 

Elwys crouched down to look at the grave between them, smaller and reading Carys Rhydderch, 4031 to 4046, ‘She Died Too Young’, “I remember Carys too, she was a lot more willing to play with me. It’s funny to think she was my age now.” 

Finally Elwys turned to the fourth and final grave in the row, this one just a stone with the distinctive shape of a core crystal engraved into it. “This is the one you’re here to see though, Carys’s blade.” 

It was the most complex, listing several pairs of dates spanning the last few centuries, every one of the blade’s known lives each with the name of a driver next to them. The second to last listed ‘Carys’ and 4043 to 4046. The last entry was from 4046 to 4049, but had no name next to it. At the top was just ‘Nia, Blade of the Llywelyn’ while at the bottom was just ‘Fallen in Battle’. 

Brighid frowned slightly, “Who was her last driver, do you know how she was destroyed?” 

Elwys gave a sad smile, “I remember Nia too, she was always nice to me … that’s, complex. Mother should have things ready by now. I’ll let her explain.” 

Mòrag gave Elwys a look, “What are you not telling us child?” 

The Gormotti girl straightened up and started leading them back up to the house, “If you’re here then I’m guessing you’re looking for Nia. I assume she still has Dromarch with her?” 

Mòrag followed, starting to get a bit irked with all this dancing around the facts, “Yes, she does.” 

“Hmmm, and I bet she looks about my age.” 

“Yes. What are you getting at?” 

“You’ll see.” 

* * *

When Elwys lead them back into the room they had first met Riannon in the lady of the house had obviously been busy. A table had been moved into the middle of the space and on it were several diaries and a number of pictures that had been laid out. 

The most significant change though was a large picture that had been hung up on the wall, a formal portrait style photo of five people. At one end was the only one that Mòrag recognised instantly, Dromarch sitting up and looking more formal than she’d seen him in the past. Even in the picture there was something subtly different about him. It could have just been the formality of the situation or it could have been that this wasn’t quite the same person she’d met. 

Next to him was his driver Brynmor, a tall and solid looking Gormotti in expensive and fashionable clothing. He was gazing at the camera with confidence and maybe a hint of arrogance but less than she was used to out of most nobles, two familiar glowing rings clipped at one hip. One of his hands was on Dromarch’s shoulder, the other was on the shoulder of his daughter Carys, probably around seven at that point, the adorable little girl giving a blinding smile towards the camera. 

Past her was her mother Seren, also with a hand on the shoulders of the people on either side of her. A slim elegant woman whose relation to her sister Riannon was obvious. Mòrag’s trained eyes could see some lines of strain on the woman’s face that were almost perfectly covered up by makeup and willpower. Past her was somebody that looked a lot like the Nia Mòrag had met, but with dramatic large fox-like ears, flamboyant railment, and several obvious glowing crystals on her including the core in her chest. 

It took Mòrag a moment to realise why the ordering seemed familiar, aside from Dromarch it perfectly matched the graves she’d seen. This picture must have been only a decade before everyone in it would be dead, one way or another. 

Riannon walked over and nodded to the picture, “The cast of the tragedy. This is the last picture of the ‘good times’. When we thought that what my sister had would pass. When we thought they could stay the happy family. I can’t approve of what Brynmor did, but I can understand it. He had everything he could ever have wanted in the world, his perfect life, and bit by bit he lost everything to forces beyond his control.” She sighed, “It’s no wonder he went mad.” 

Mòrag looked at her, “You know who Nia is. The Nia we’re looking for.” 

Riannon nodded, “I know who she is, where she came from, and can make some solid guesses at her motivations. If you can be patient, I have a story to tell you, about that family and what happened to them. By the end of it you should understand who Nia is too.” 

The inquisitor and the blade exchanged looks before Mòrag looked back and nodded, she could wait for a little. “How are you so sure you understand it?” 

“Seren was my sister, we were very close, I was also the one who archived the house when we moved in. I have their pictures, and I have the diaries of Carys and both of the blades. Between that I feel I have a pretty solid view of things.” 

She turned back to look at the picture, “At the time this was taken Seren was already ill, she would die in another seven years and it would not be an easy death. Brynmor was already looking for possible cures but in a sane way. Later in the same year Carys started showing the signs of the same condition, and Brynmor stopped being … restrained about hunting for a cure.” She stopped and looked at the two guests, “I’ll be honest, one of my biggest fears is that I’ll start showing the same signs, or worse yet Elwys will. So far though we’ve been lucky and I was the older sister, so … “ she shrugged a little. 

Mòrag asked, “When you say he became less restrained, this was when he started stealing money?” 

“That would come in time. This was when he started getting reckless with money, not caring about trying to hold onto any reserves. Thankfully for us he only had access to Rhydderch’s funds.” She walked up to the picture, pointing to the fox woman, “Nia was a powerful healing blade, not as powerful as she’d become later but still very potent. And all she could do was slow things down, take away the pain, help Seren remain functional. In her diary she makes it very clear that she’s looking forward to ceasing to be when Seren dies, so she won’t have to live with her failure.” 

Brighid nodded, “I don’t know of any blade that would want to remember something like that.” Mòrag noted that Maya who had parked herself as a quiet sentinel in the corner was nodding too. 

Riannon sighed, “When she finally died it was almost a relief. It’s horrible to say that about my sister but at the same time, she wasn’t suffering anymore. It broke a lot of us. She was well loved by her family and by the town. But it shattered Brynmor. Carys was getting worse rapidly. By the time Seren died Carys had a hard time moving under her own power. She was so very brave about it all but you could tell.” 

Mòrag frowned, “I assume it was Brynmor that got Carys to resonate with Nia.” 

“Yes, which was unbelievably dangerous. In the state she was if she’d had even the slightest negative reaction … but she lived. And as can happen, Nia changed herself into an even better healer to suit her new driver.” 

Brighid spoke up, “That and what happened to Seren. From looking at my own diaries I have on more than one occasion reawoken with subtle changes in my arts optimised to stop something that killed my previous driver. Sometimes not so subtle.” 

Riannon picked out a picture and placed it down, “So for a time it was good. We all hoped that Carys had gone into remission because most of the symptoms had vanished. Brynmor stopped being quite so … intense. By this point though he’d already been taking money from funds supposed to be used for the town’s infrastructure, and gotten himself into debt.” 

In the picture a typical family holiday scene with Brynmor and Carys, both blades, and a couple of staff. Presents on the table, and Carys while still showing some smalls signs of the illness had the kind of energy you’d expect for a girl her age, the smile not faked. 

Brighid looked thoughtful, “I suspect she’s being ether boosted there, probably a continuous augmentation from Nia to keep her healthy.” 

Mòrag frowned, any driver tended to have some level of ongoing boost from their blades but this sounded like something more, “Is that safe?” 

“It’s not healthy for blade or driver … under normal conditions. In this situation? I’m not a healer, at worst it shortened her life a bit but made her more comfortable for what time she had.” 

Riannon nodded, “That would match with the comments in the diary. And sadly things did not stay good.” She laid down a picture from a year later, the staff were missing and the room seemed that little bit more dusty. The presents were smaller and fewer and mainly for Carys who was looking more tired, more worn. The smile didn’t seem forced like some other pictures of her but the concern from Nia was obvious even if she was trying to smile for the camera. 

Mòrag thought back to the auditor's report, “This was the point when Brynmor started stealing from the tax before it went to the empire.” 

“Yes, he was … desperate. Willing to do terrible things to try and save his family.” She laid down one more picture. This had only one present in front of Carys and no others and a much more sparse meal while in the background there were items missing from shelves that had probably been sold for food or medicine. Carys was the only one even trying to smile and there was no denying it was the look of a girl that knew she was dying and trying to keep up a pretence that nobody around her was believing. Nia and Brynmor looked almost as drawn as Carys did and the entire picture had a feeling of desperation. 

Riannon’s tone was quiet, “Nia’s diary does not make easy reading. She’s obviously read all her notes from her life with Seren and could see the same thing happening again. She loved Carys with every bit of her heart, but at the same time was watching a driver die from under her again. She was getting almost as desperate as Brynmor.” 

Brighid was visiblty wincing. “I’m not sure I can think of a worse thing to do to a blade.” 

The host winced, “Sadly Brynmor could think of something worse. This is from after Carys died.” Laying down a final picture. 

It was the same room, even more shabby, more built up dust, more missing items. No presents this time just three figures. Brynmor was trying to look like things were normal but the signs of stress were obvious, if not the same kind of symptoms his wife and daughter had shown. Dromarch was looking … odd. Mòrag wasn’t good at reading animal blade expressions but the way Dromarch was watching his driver was an odd mix of protectiveness and almost warning? 

The third figure was the the one that drew their attention however. It was Nia, not the blade but the Gormotti girl that Mòrag had been questioning. She was standing with Brynmor’s arm around her shoulder, like he had with his daughter, and her expression was complex. Mòrag was _very_ good at reading people, she had to be, and while the girl was doing their best to smile for the camera her body language hinted at nervousness and concern, she didn’t look like she wanted to be there. A far cry from the brash young woman that Mòrag had talked to but unmistakably the same person. This looked a lot like the shy and scared girl that Griffith had described. 

Mòrag looked at that then the previous pictures and even the one on the wall. Looking at them side by side it was unmistakable, they had to be the same person. The only difference was the ears, hairstyle, and the overall attitude. Also apparently Nia hadn’t aged a day in over a decade. She gave Riannon a questioning look. 

The woman nodded back, “The diaries confirm it, there never were two Nias. That is the blade, somehow transformed.” 

Brighid brought up the obvious problem, “The Nia we met was driving Dromarch. I fought them twice. They weren't two blades with a driver somewhere else. She was _driving_ him. She was using his weapons and arts, there was ether transfer.” 

Riannon shrugged, “I can’t explain it, anymore than I can easily explain her transformation, but this adds a final bit of information.” 

Mòrag looked at a formal letter from the Indoline Praetoriam which was the final bit of proof that pulled it all together and confirmed her suspicions. The way Nia was operating without a driver, the impossible capabilities, the paranoia. There was only one explanation. 

The letter was simple and reported to the Llywelyn Family that the cannibal blade Nia had been captured and was being taken to Indol for destruction. It included a list of her belongs that were being returned to the family and an additional note that the family blade Dromarch would be returned once he had been freed from the cannibal. 

It was Brighid that spoke first, “Nia is a Flesh Eater.” 

That got a nod, “Yes, it’s all in the diary. Brynmor gave them the idea. I assume it’s because he didn’t want to lose both of them. Nia outright refused but Carys knew she didn’t have long left and didn’t want Nia to die with her. It took her awhile to talk Nia round but she managed in the end.” She sighed, “I’m pretty sure it was a mercy killing in the end, Nia couldn’t keep the pain away anymore and the drugs had stopped helping. The only way she could stop her driver hurting … “ 

Mòrag quietly said, “Was to kill her.” 

Brighid was looking horrified, for a moment Mòrag assumed it was that a Flesh Eater had been in their presence or that a blade could kill their own driver then the woman spoke, “You were right. He did find something worse than watching your driver die and not being able to help … having to kill your driver because you have no other option, and _not dying with them_. She remembers _everything_.” She sighed, “That poor girl.” 

Mòrag looked over at Brighid, “I would have thought you’d be more worried about a Flesh Eater roaming free.” 

Brighid considered for a moment, “Did I ever tell you I fought alongside one during the Aegis war? His name was Minoth, Addam Origo’s other blade. He was distant but nothing like the ravening monster we are told his kind is.” 

Everyone was staring at Brighid for a few long moments before Riannon quietly said, “I knew the stories said you were involved in the Aegis war … it’s still a bit of a shock to have it confirmed like that.” 

Elwys spoke up, her tone soft, “Nia and Carys referred to each other as sisters in the dairies. We first arrived only a few days after she must have left. There were still flowers on Carys's grave and a depression in the ground like someone had knelt there every day for years. They were the wrong size to be Brynmor." 

Riannon commented, “I think I met her once. At Carys’s funeral, there was a girl her size, fully covered up. They waited until most people had left and then cried over the grave for a while. Brynmor didn’t say who she was but asked us to leave her alone.” 

Mòrag asked, “How confident are you in the accuracy of the diaries?” 

Riannon looked down at the books, “I recognize the writing style of everyone involved, and they match all the other evidence. It’s possible she managed to fake two other styles of writing and filled in several years worth of books but that is unlikely at best.” Riannon looked back up at Mòrag, “You said you’ve seen her recently? Indol did have to admit they had lost her when they couldn’t return Dromarch’s core to us, but we had never been sure if that wasn’t them lying.” 

Mòrag considered for a moment before answering, “She was with the terrorist group Torna until recently. They attack ships carrying core crystals on a regular basis, so my assumption right now is that they hit the ship she was one and they rescued her as a side thing. She seems to have seperated from them recently. She had to choose between protecting an innocent and following orders I think.” 

Riannon nodded, “I mostly knew her when she was Seren’s blade. For a support and healing focused blade she was remarkably aggressive in her approach to combat. She preferred to stop damage before it could reach Seren. From family records she’s always been a bit like that, very assertive.” 

Mòrag thought back to the sassy little Gormotti she had met, “She’s not changed much then.” The news would be spreading by now anyway, so it didn’t cost Mor Ardain anything to tell them. “The person she rescued and the one she’s traveling with. He’s the current driver of the Aegis.” 

That brought almost as much silence as Bridget's comment of when she’d traveled with Addam had. 

That silence was broken by Elwys whispering, “Awesome.” Then she blushed as everyone looked in her direction. Next to her Maya quietly facepalmed. 

Riannon asked, “What are your intentions as regards her?” 

Mòrag thought on that, “I have not decided yet. She’s undoubtedly the most experienced in that group. It may be best to leave her with them to hopefully keep them out of trouble. Are you still seeking the return of Dromarch?” 

Riannon shook her head, “As I see it he’s still in the hands of family. It also avoids another political fight if he’s not here.” The look she gave Mòrag was questioning, bordering on challenging. 

Having a noble family treat a Flesh Eater as a family member was bordering on conspiracy and she should probably should do something about that. Then she looked at the pictures, and thought about that sad little gravestone and the girl that had gone to it every day for years. She thought about the girl she had talked to, who had finally found a safe place and then broken away from it to protect a pair of innocents and leave herself homeless again. 

It was possible that Nia was a cunning mastermind, capable of fooling her face to face, faking several diaries, and everything else. 

Possible, but no. Whoever, whatever Nia was she was no monster. Which didn’t mean she wasn’t a problem but a more human kind of problem. 

After a long pause Mòrag nodded, “Should I call her Nia Llywelyn when I next see her?” 

Riannon nodded, “That would seem appropriate. If you could also tell her her family would like to see her again, that would be appreciated.” 

They were willing to let her into their house. Interesting. 

Elwys asked, “How much trouble is she in?” 

Brighid smiled slightly, “Quite a bit, her and the Aegis caused quite a bit of destruction while fighting us … and escaping.” 

The girl’s eyes went wide, “She won? Against _you_? So cool.” 

Mòrag ignored that byplay, “Lady Riannon, I would be interested in learning more about her. I do not intend on trying to arrest her at this point, but … she _is_ traveling as part of the Aegis’s group. I need to understand her so we can avoid problems.” 

She could see family loyalty and national loyalty warring for a moment in Riannon before the woman sighed, “I can give you some information. I ask on your honor as a noble that you do not misuse it.” 

Mòrag nodded, this had nothing to do with law or politics and everything do with bonds of family. “On my honor as a Ladair.” 

Riannon gave her a long look, then nodded, “Very well. Then let me tell you about the Nia I knew when Seren was driving her.” 

* * *

“Well, that was interesting.” Brighid’s tone was carefully bland as they walked away from the manor. 

Mòrag sighed, “Life would be easier if I didn’t know some of this. You feel for her don’t you.” 

“Nia? Yes. She’s been through the worst thing possible for a blade, and then again and again. Being captured by the Praetorium to be killed wasn’t even close to the worst experience of her life. They also took her diary off her.” Brighid’s tone got sharper than normal at that last bit. Any implied threat to Brighid’s own diary or the stack going back centuries was one of the few things that could cause the blade to get visibly angry. 

“I must admit some fondness myself, even if that pack of children did slight me. They are … “ 

“They are willing to face us in battle for something they believe in, to protect each other.” Brighid looked back at the manor for a moment, “It’s probably a good thing she needs to protect the town or that girl Elwys would be trying to track them down to join them.” 

Mòrag nodded then changed topics, “Nia was rescued by Torna, probably Jin in person. He has to know what she is.” 

Brighid frowned, “This gives more proof to the theory that he’s a Flesh Eater himself and hasn’t just had a series of drivers over the time. Given what we know now about how Nia became what she is, it’s likely that Lora’s death was the trigger.” She looked at her driver, “He was devoted to her. He would never hurt her without the greatest need.” 

“We had already assumed that about him but this does raise the question of what would put him in that situation. It also means we should assume any others working with him are similar until proven otherwise.” 

“The one thing we do know is that Torna seem to want the Aegis. Those children will need all the luck in Alrest.” 

Mòrag found herself smiling slightly as she remembered a boy facing her down, “Or at least all the determination in Alrest. When our paths cross again we shall have to see how she has progressed.” 

Brighid nodded, “I the meantime there is one more to look into.” 

“Yes. I haven’t been to Argentium in a while.” 

They headed for the waiting ship. The job was never done after all. 

**Author's Note:**

> As always thanks to my betas pheonix89 and Grundpfeiler who helped so much with this.


End file.
